Stuart Burrell Lantz (born July 13, 1946) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player who is a television commentator for the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA) on Spectrum SportsNet. He played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

Nebraska Cornhuskers The Nebraska Cornhuskers (often abbreviated to Huskers) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The university is a member of the Big Ten Conference and competes in NCAA Division I, fielding t ...

Early years

Lantz attended Uniontown Area High School. He accepted a basketball scholarship from the

University of Nebraska–Lincoln The University of Nebraska–Lincoln (Nebraska, NU, or UNL) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States. Chartered in 1869 by the Nebraska Legislature as part of the M ...

. In the 1966–67 season, he contributed to the Cornhuskers' first 20-win season (20–5), their first NIT Tournament bid and earning a second-place finish in the

Big Eight Conference The Big Eight Conference was a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-affiliated Division I-A college athletic association that sponsored American football, football. It was formed in January 1907 as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate ...

. Lantz became the school's first two-time All-Big Eight selection. He led the Cornhuskers in scoring and rebounding in both the 1966–67 and 1967–68 seasons. He finished his college career with a 16.9 points, 48.5 percent shooting and 7.6 rebound average. In 1989, Lantz' number 22 jersey was the second retired by the school. In 2001, he was inducted into the Nebraska Basketball Hall of Fame.

Professional career

Lantz played in the

from

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

until

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

. He was selected by the

San Diego Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston, Texas. The team plays in the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The team was established in 1967, and pl ...

in the third round (1st pick, 23rd overall) of the

1968 NBA draft The 1968 NBA draft was the 22nd annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 3, 1968, and May 8 and 10, 1968, before the 1968–69 season. In this draft, 14 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. co ...

and by the Oakland Oaks in the 1968 ABA Draft. In the 1970–71 season, Lantz averaged 20.6 points and 5 rebounds per game for the

. In the 1976–77 season, he injured his back during a training camp scrimmage and never fully recovered during the year. On July 2, 1977, Lantz announced his retirement at 30 years old (a week and a half before his 31st birthday) because of the injury.

Broadcast career

Lantz has been the Lakers' color commentator since

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

, sharing the microphone with

Chick Hearn Francis Dayle "Chick" Hearn (November 27, 1916 – August 5, 2002) was an American sportscaster who was the play-by-play announcer for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association for 41 years, as well as the team's assistant ge ...

Paul Sunderland Paul Benedict Sunderland (born March 29, 1952) is an American professional sportscaster who resides in Los Angeles, California. He worked as the indoor volleyball play-by-play announcer for NBC Olympics’ coverage of the 2016 Summer Olympics, ...

, Joel Meyers and now Bill Macdonald on Spectrum SportsNet. Lantz has been named by the Southern California Sports Broadcasters Association as the best television color commentator on seven occasions. In 2018, he was inducted into the Southern California Sports Broadcasters Hall of Fame. On February 27, 2022, before a home game against the

New Orleans Pelicans The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Confere ...

, the Lakers commemorated Lantz's 35 years broadcasting for the team with a pregame video tribute that featured celebratory messages from

Pat Riley Patrick James Riley (born March 20, 1945) is an American professional basketball executive, former coach, and former player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has been the team president of the Miami Heat since 1995, and he also se ...

Walt Frazier Walter "Clyde" Frazier Jr. (born March 29, 1945) is an American former professional basketball player of the National Basketball Association (NBA). As their floor general and top perimeter defender, he led the New York Knicks to the franchise's o ...

, Derek Fisher, and

Shaquille O'Neal Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal ( ; born March 6, 1972), commonly known as Shaq ( ), is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program ''Inside the NBA''. He is a and Center (basketball), center ...

, among other basketball contemporaries. In 2023, Lantz was named recipient of the 75th Los Angeles Area

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...

Governors Award by the Television Academy, recognizing his “long career in broadcasting, professionalism, and immense popularity.” The announcement was televised in a surprise fashion in the Spectrum SportsNet studio with his colleagues and Lakers executives, including Jeanie Buss. He joins other Southern California sports icons Bob Miller,

Vin Scully Vincent Edward Scully (November 29, 1927 – August 2, 2022) was an American sportscaster, best known for his broadcast work in Major League Baseball. Scully was the play-by-play announcer for the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers for sixty-se ...

, and

Kobe Bryant Kobe Bean Bryant ( ; August 23, 1978 – January 26, 2020) was an American professional basketball player. A shooting guard, he List of NBA players who have spent their entire career with one franchise, spent his entire 20-year career with t ...

as Governor's Award recipients.

Career statistics

NBA

Source

Regular season

Playoffs

References

External links

NBA player statistics
@ basketballreference.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lantz, Stu 1946 births Living people American men's basketball players Basketball players from Pennsylvania Detroit Pistons players Houston Rockets players Los Angeles Lakers announcers Los Angeles Lakers players NBA broadcasters Nebraska Cornhuskers men's basketball players New Orleans Jazz expansion draft picks New Orleans Jazz players Oakland Oaks draft picks Sportspeople from Uniontown, Pennsylvania Point guards San Diego Clippers announcers San Diego Rockets draft picks San Diego Rockets players Shooting guards 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen